4 Tasks For This Week in the Southern California Garden

Here are four tasks that gardeners in Southern California should do this week:

Monitor plants at least every other day during warm weather and every day during hot weather to catch wilting, irrigation, pest, disease, weed, and other problems early.

Maintain or add mulch; consider adding extra mulch to a total depth of 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches to keep soil cool during summer heat.

Harvesting a cucumber

Harvest summer crops. Harvest aggressively before heat waves, including whole plants or all vegetables for any remaining cool-season crops and sensitive warm-season crops such as zucchini.

Vegetables protected by shade

Provide consistent soil moisture and shade during heat waves; see GardenZeus Tips for Shading Vegetables During Hot Weather for creative ideas for providing shade.

To view customized gardening information for your area, go to GardenZeus and enter your zip code, then go to the plant you are interested in growing.

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